Effectiveness of exercise therapy for osteoarthritis: an overview of systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials
Authors' conclusion
Evidence on exercise for osteoarthritis remains largely inconclusive, suggesting negligible or short-lasting small effects comparable to, or less effective than, other treatments.
Study context
- Population
- People with osteoarthritis (knee, hip, hand, ankle)5 reviews (n=8631)
- Comparison
- Exercise vs placebo, no intervention or other interventions
- Outcome
- Pain and function (0-100 scale)
Methodological detailsrandom-effects meta-analysis, data standardised to 0-100 scale, GRADE certainty rating, supplementary trials to update inconclusive areas, Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed bias
- Random-effects meta-analysis
- Data standardised to 0-100 scale
- GRADE certainty rating
- Supplementary trials to update inconclusive areas
- Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed bias
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Knee OA pain · short-term
Mean difference (95% CI)
Exercisevs Placebo
−10.8(−19.1 to −2.6)
Exercisevs No-treatment
−12.4(−15.6 to −9.2)
Further pooled results
| Outcome | Difference (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Exercisevs knee osteotomy (single trial, selected population) · longer termExercise less effective · single trial in selected population | 12.4 (4.7–20.2) | |
| Exercise vs joint replacement (single trials, selected populations) · longer termExercisevs Knee replacementExercise less effective · single trials in selected populations | 17.1 (10.4–23.8) | |
| Exercise vs joint replacement (single trials, selected populations) · longer termExercisevs Hip replacementExercise less effective · single trials in selected populations | 24.2 (18.2–30.2) | |
| −2002040Difference (linear scale) |
Hip OA pain, exercise (0-100 scale)
- Negligible effects in hip OA (moderate evidence), MD
- −6.7 (−9.3 to −4.0) (95% CI)
Hand OA pain, exercise (0-100 scale)
- Small effects in hand OA (moderate evidence), MD
- −10.0 (−15.5 to −4.5) (95% CI)
Exercise vs education, manual therapy, analgesics, injections and arthroscopy
- Comparable outcomes (varying certainty evidence)
Original publication
Effectiveness of exercise therapy for osteoarthritis: an overview of systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials. RMD Open. Published 17 February 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →